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(No Model.)

F. B. WALKERQ CHECK SPRING No. 597,596. Patented Jan. 18,1898.

' INV EIVTOR ATTORNEYS.

' WITNESSES 6M! 20 UNITED STATES PATENT FFIQE.

FRED B, .VALKER, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND GEORGE WV. REID, OF SAME PLACE.

CHECK-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,596, dated January 18, 1898. Application filed November 25, 1896. Serial No. 613,400. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED B. WALKER, of

San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Check-Spring, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. The invention relates to checkreins; and its object is to provide a new and improved check-spring for preventing sudden jars to a horses mouth when the animal throws his head forward, the spring also serving to lessen undue tension on the several parts of the harness.

The invention consists principally of a check-spring formed with a coil, an eye at one end of the coil, and a loop projecting beyond the coil and straddling the shank of the said eye to limit the opening up of the coil.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement, and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same.

The improved checkspring is formed of a single piece of steel wire wound into a coil A, one end of which terminates in a shank A, extending outwardly and carrying an eye A to which the checkrein is fastened. The other end of the coil A is formed into an eye A", adapted to be hooked on a terret hook or ring, and the eye A terminates in a member A, extending through the opening of the coil A beyond the end having the eye A the said member A being part of a loop A having its other member A returned through the opening in the coil A, as plainly shownin Fig. 2, the free end A of the member extending over the eye A The two members A and A of the loop A straddle the shank A, and

the said loop extends a suitable distance beyond this end of the coil A, so as to form at the bend of theloop a stop for the shank A and eye A to limit the opening up of the coil A. The end A by passing over the eye A engages the side of the terret ring or loop, so as to prevent the eye A from accidentally unhooking. Now it will be seen that when the device is used and the animal throws his head forward then the pull exerted by the checkrein on the eye A causes the coilA to open; but this opening is limited by the shank A striking the bend of the loop A Thus the spring is not liable to be broken and at the same time the checkrein is rendered sufliciently flexible to prevent sudden jars to the horses mouth and also lessens undue tension on the parts of the harness.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- A check-spring formed of a single piece of wire, wound to produce a spring-coil, one end of which is formed into an eye for attaching the checkrein and the other end is formed into an eye for connection with a terret, the end of the terret-eye terminating in a .loop which extends through the coil and straddles the shank of the rein-eye, to limit the out- Ward movement thereof, the return member of the said loop having its end extending over the said terreteye, to form a guard therefor, substantially as shown and described.

FRED B. WALKER.

Witnesses:

S. O. ELDRIDGE, GEO. R. HINES. 

